Victoria Memorial (India)
| ভিক্টোরিয়া মেমোরিয়াল হল | |
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| Established | 1921 |
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| Location | Queen's Way, Kolkata, WB, India |
| Type | Museum |
| Collection size | Nearly 30,000 (31 March 2009) |
| Architect | William Emerson |
| Website | victoriamemorial-cal |
Coordinates: 22°32′42″N 88°20′33″E / 22.5449°N 88.3425°E
The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), West Bengal, India, which was built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria (1819–1901), and is now a museum and tourist destination under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. The memorial lies on the maidan (grounds) by the bank of the Hooghly River, near Jawaharlal Nehru road.
In January 1901, on the death of Queen Victoria,George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston and Viceroy of India, suggested the creation of a fitting memorial. He proposed the construction of a grand building with a museum and gardens. Curzon said,
"Let us, therefore, have a building, stately, spacious, monumental and grand, to which every newcomer in Calcutta will turn, to which all the resident population, European and Native, will flock, where all classes will learn the lessons of history, and see revived before their eyes the marvels of the past."
The Prince of Wales, later King George V, laid the foundation stone on 4 January 1906, and it was formally opened to the public in 1921.
In 1912, before the construction of the Victoria Memorial was finished, King George V announced the transfer of the capital of India from Calcutta to New Delhi. Thus, the Victoria Memorial was built in what would be a provincial city rather than a capital.
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